Hakan Demir, Qatar males’s basketball coach, oversees a coaching session for the workforce forward of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on the Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai, on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.
| Photograph Credit score: R. Ravindran
In February this yr, Hakan Demir was the top coach of the Iran males’s workforce within the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, when it took on Qatar.
Now, because the second window begins on the Nehru Indoor Stadium right here on Friday (November 22), Demir would be the head coach of Qatar that can problem a younger Indian workforce.
After shedding its matches to Iran and Kazakhstan, Qatar is positioned third in Group-E forward of India, which is in fourth. Demir mentioned India’s match is essential to each as they’ve misplaced two video games apiece, however insisted that India would be the favorite.
“I do know the India workforce may be very aggressive and fights onerous till the final second. Qatar and India are 0-2 of their teams. It will likely be a really essential recreation for each. However in fact, India has the house court docket benefit and would be the favorite,” he mentioned.
Qatar was fairly a robust workforce a few a long time again, ending third within the FIBA Asia Cup in 2005. Since then, it has gone down the world rankings (101 to India’s 76) after failing to qualify for the Asia Cup final yr. However Demir mentioned the workforce is within the rebuilding part and is sure to do higher prior to later.
“We’re rebooting Qatar basketball once more with many gamers within the age group of 16-19 years. Now we have two naturalised gamers in Mike Lewis and Donte Grantham from the USA. We are going to get higher with each match. In the mean time, we need to qualify for the finals of the Asia Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia from August 5 to 17, 2025,” Demir mentioned.
Revealed – November 20, 2024 08:45 pm IST
